2008 年6 月 中国英语教学 （双月刊） Jun．2008

第 31 卷　第3 期 CELEA Journal（Bim onthly） Vol．31 No．

3

IS NOTICING VITAL FOR L2 LEARNING ？— A CRITICAL

REVIEW OF SCHMIDT S“NOTICING HYPOTHESIS”

Wen Zhisheng
Hong Kong Shue Yan University

Abstract
　　 Richard Sch midt in his“noticing hypothesis”has proposed that noticing is vital for L2 interlanguage
develop ment．In line with this argu ment ，the present paper will first atte m pt to explore the rationale
underlying Sch midt s noticing hypothesis within the context of input theories in SLA and then to further
evaluate the validity of both his o w n claim and that of so me recent e m piricalstudies claimed to lend supportto
his claim ． My position is that Sch midt s o w n evidence proves to be inadequate for his claim ．Additionally ， I
argue thatseveralrecent atte m ptsto provide e m piricalsupport for Sch midt s noticing hypothesis allfallshort of
that particular goal．Therefore ， the paper co mes to the conclusion that the issue that noticing is vital for L2
learning re mains unresolved and m uch further research efforts are still called for to reflectthe co m plex nature
of the L2 learning process．

Key w ords
noticing hypothesis ；L2 interlanguage develop ment ；L2 cognitive processes

Introduction
The role of conscious and unconscious processes in L2 learning has been a controversial issue in
applied linguistics for so m e tim e． There are basically three views on this ：that language learning is
essentially unconscious ； that conscious understanding of the target language syste m is necessary ；or ， that
the issue of consciousness should be avoided in SLA altogether． Recently ，however ，w hen general
agree m ent has been reached on the im portance of attention as a necessary condition for learning to take
place ，researchers in SLA have begun to m ove their battlefield to exa mine the role of attention in
m ediating input and learning ，given the obvious fact that learners do not take in all of the input exposed
to the m ．So this new round of debate centers m ore on w hether the role that awareness plays in L2
learning is crucial for subsequent processing of L2 input data． Again as expected ，researchers re m ain
m uch divided as to the a m ount and type of attention needed for L2 processing ：on the one hand ， so m e
researchers（e．g． Carr ＆ Curran 1994 ；To mlin ＆ Villa 1994 ）have argued for a dissociation between
awareness and learning．On the other hand ， Sch midt（1990 ， 1993 ，1995 ， 2001 ；Sch midt ＆Frota 1986）in
his noticing hypothesis ，has proposed that conscious attention to the form of input plays a crucial role for
subsequent L2 develop m ent — that is ，learners m ust first de m onstrate a conscious apprehension and
awareness of so m e particular form in the input before any subsequent processing or intake of that noticed
form can take place．In order to test Sch midt s claim ， the present paper will first atte m pt to explore the
underlying rationale for his noticing hypothesis by putting it in the context of input theories of SLA and
then to further evaluate the validity of his claim against so m e recently published e m piricalstudies that aim
to support his noticing hypothesis．

1．Input Process and Sch midt s Noticing Hypothesis

As m entioned above ，several researchers have tried to argue for a dissociation between learning and
3
 Is Noticing Vital for L2 Learning ？— A Critical Revie w of Sch midt s．．．　 Wen Zhisheng

awareness． For exa m ple ， Velm ans （1991 ） postulated that task de m ands m ay appear to involve
consciousness due to the need for focal－ attentive processing ，but in so m e cases focal attentive processes
m ay operate effectively without consciousness being present．Similarly ，To mlin and Villa（1994）viewed
the process of attention as being too coarse－ grained in SLA and thus proposed a fine－ grained analysis of
attention（na m ely ， the attentional functions of alertness ，orientation ，and detection ）in their m odel of
input processing．They claim ed that ， though detection is the level at w hich acquisition takes place and the
m ost related to awareness ，none of the three attentional functions m ay require awareness to operate．
However ，as Leow （ 1997 ） pointed out ，the data collection procedure （ offline postexposure
questionnaire）used by these researchers to m easure the presence or absence of awareness has potential
internal validity concerns ，especially because it is unable to account for w hat learners actually paid
attention to or beca m e aware of during the experim ental exposure．Additionally ，Sch midt（1995）pointed
out several other m ethodological proble ms that plagued studies cited as e m pirical supports by these
researchers． For exa m ple ，these studies failed to m ethodologically establish a co m plete absence of
awareness in language learning．In other w ords ，so m e participants assigned to the unaware group could
have been described as so m ew hat aware but not co m pletely unaware．Consequently ， the categorization of
the participants levels of awareness in the different groups could lead to potential new interpretations of
the sa m e results．

For his ow n part ，Sch midt argued for the opposite point of view ： that focal attention is iso m orphic
with awareness and ，consequently ，learning cannot take place without awareness． Acknowleging that
consciousnessis prim arily associated with the input side of the nervous syste m ，Sch midt（1990）focused his
discussion of the role of consciousness in adult L2 learning on input processing． He appeared to equate
noticing with attention plus awareness and operationalized noticing as a cognitive operation that takes
place both during and im m ediately after exposure to the input that is available for self－ report（1990 ：
132） ．For Sch midt ， （1 ）not all input has equal value and （2 ）only that input w hich is noticed then
beco m es available for intake and effective processing （Skehan 1998 ：48 ） ．Indeed ，Sch midt argued
strongly against any input converting into intake without being noticed first by the learner．Therefore ，
the“noticing hypothesis”can also be stated as“w hat learners notice in input is w hat beco m es intake for
learning” （Sch midt 1995 ：20）．
In terms of noticing and input process of L2 data ，Sch midt was m ainly concerned with three issues ：
first ，the process through w hich input beco m es intake ；second ，the degree to w hich the learner
consciously controls the process of intake ；third ，the role of conscious understanding in hypothesis
form ation（1990 ：138 ） ． To illustrate his point ，Sch midt （1990 ：143 ） highlights six m ajor factors
influencing noticing w hen learners are processing L2 input data． Tw o are concerned with the input
qualities ： ．
i e．（1）Fequency ofinput ，w hich（ceteris paribus）increases the chance of being noticed by L2
learners ； （2）Perceptual salience of input ，w hich（ceteris paribus）is m ore likely to be noticed ；another
tw o are concerned with focused input ： （3）Instruction m ay also have a priming effect w hich increases the
chance of noticing featuresin input ； （4）Task de m ands are a powerful determinant of w hatis noticed and
provide one of the basic argu m ents that w hatis learned is w hatis noticed．The re m aining tw o factors are
internal ones w hich have to do with individual differences of the L2 learner per se ： （3）Expectations or
readiness of the individual learner is likely to have an effect on his／her noticeability ； （4 ） Processing
co m pacity of the individual learner also prove to be an internal factor influencing his／her noticeability．
An alternative way to understand Sch midt sidea is to incorporate allthese six factorsinto the inform ation
processing m odel and connect the m with operations of the w orking m e m ory and long－ term m e m ory
（Skehan 1998 ），w here noticing plays a m ediating role between input and the operation of these tw o
m e m ory syste ms（Figure 1）．
That is to say ， allthese six factors will exert their influence upon noticing in L2 data processing．Put
in another way ，before we can claim that“noticing is vital for L2 learning”，we need e m pirical evidence
fro m all these six factors．Obviously ，at this m o m ent ， the SLA field just has not arrived there yet．The
following part of the paper will critically exa mine so m e m ajor e m pirical supports for the noticing
hypothesis．

4
 CELEA Journal 79

Figure 1．Factors influencing noticing（adapted fro m Skehan 1998）

2．Critical Review of Supports for the Noticing Hypothesis

2．1 Sch midt s Own Evidence
To justify his ow n argu m ent ，Sch midt prim arily drew evidence fro m a diary study of his ow n personal
atte m pts to learn Portuguese in Brazil（Sch midt ＆Frota 1986） ．For exa m ple ，re m arkable correspondence
was found between his reports of w hat he had noticed w hen Brazilians talked to him and the linguistic
forms he used．They also co m pared his perform ance on 21 verbal constructions ，and found that he had
been taught 14 of these．Their later analysis appeared to suggest that presence of forms and frequency in
input did play so m e part though not the w hole part．Sch midt based his argu m ent m ainly on the evidence
that there were m any cases in w hich it was possible to m atch the new forms and constructions of
Portuguese on the tape with co m m ents in his ow n journal ，and m ore often than not ，he could further
identify the apparent source of innovation as so m ething very specific that so m eone had m entioned to him
before．In this sense ， itis very likely thatthese forms had been presentin co m prehensible input all along．
Besides citing fro m his ow n experience oflearning Portuguese ， Sch midt also referred to several other SLA
studies to support his claim ， such as ： （1）enhanced input designed to draw learner s attention to specific
forms in the input（e．g． Doughty 1991 ）； （2 ）co m petition between form and m eaning（e．g． VanPatten
1990）； （3）“uptake”studies ，． i e． learners claims regarding w hat had draw n their attention and w hat
they had learned during the lesson（e．g． Slim ani 1992） ．
However ， it m ust be pointed out that there are severallimitationsinherent with these evidence w hen
we co m e to talk about the role of awareness at the level of noticing ： （1）In Sch midt s ow n exa m ple of
learning Portuguese ， despite w hat he said ，we should also acknowledge that scenarios differ w hen learners
process L2 input data in diary entries and in natural interactions． Obviously ，this exa m ple alone is far
fro m enough to claim that L2 learners need to notice before they can learn anything． Even Sch midt
himself ad mitted that ，though it［his ow n exa m ple］ provides evidence for a close connection between
noticing and e m ergence in production ，the study does not show that noticing is sufficient for learning
（1990 ：141）（author s ow n e m phasis）； （2）As for the other severalstudies cited by Sch midt ， they did not
specifically set out to address the role of consciousness or awareness and therefore cannot and should not
serve as evidence to support his claim ．For exa m ple ， they w ould not be able to explain w hat role noticing
had played in learners behaviour and in that sense ， they could only serve as anecdotal evidence（Leow
1997） ．Therefore ，m uch m ore e m pirical evidence is needed to support the claim that“noticing is vital for
L2 learning” ．

2．2 Recent Em pirical Studies of Awareness in SLA

Recently ， several SLA researchers have set up a nu m ber of e m pirical studies to investigate the effect
of awareness on L2 learning．They have all m entioned that their findings have provided support for the
facilitative role of awareness in L2 learning behaviour and consequently ，provide e m pirical support for
Sch midt s argu m ent that“noticing is vital for L2 learning”． Major studies falling to this line of argu m ent
are briefly sketched in Table 1 ， followed by critical co m m ents in the next part of the paper ：
5
 Is Noticing Vital for L2 Learning ？— A Critical Revie w of Sch midt s．．．　 Wen Zhisheng

Table 1．Recent Em pirical Studies Supporting the Noticing Hypothesis

Data
The Target
Subjects Tasks Elicitation Major Findings
Studies Forms
Procedures

Those learners w ho showed so m e

36
Se mi－ 1．a reading task TAPs and evidence of having acquired the target
Alanen participants
artificial 2．a gra m m atical Postexposure structures were the ones w ho had
（1995）（between Finisha judge m ent task Tests noticed the m and subsequently
18 and 45）
m entioned the m in their TAPs．

（a） m eta－
awareness appeared to
correlate with an increased usage of
1．a proble m －
hypothesis testing and m orphological
solving task（a
rule form ation ，w hereas absence of
28 adult ste m － crossw ord puzzle）
m eta－awareness appeared to correlate
Loew beginning changing 2．tw o post－
TAPs with an absence of such processing ；
（1997） learners －ir verbs exposure tasks and（b）that learners of high level of
of Spanish in Spanisha （recognition
awareness perform ed significantly
task ＆written
better than those with a lower level on
production task）
both the recognition and written
production of the targeted forms．

1．a proble m －
Learners w ho de m onstrated awareness
solving task（a
of targeted m orphological forms were
32 adult ste m － crossw ord puzzle）
TAPs and able to take in and produce in writing
Loew beginning changing 2．tw o post－
Retrospective significantly m ore of these forms ，
（2000） learners －ir verbs exposure tasks Interviews co m pared to learners w ho did not
of Spanish in Spanish （recognition
appear to be aware of these forms
task ＆written
during exposure．
production task）

Whereas both awareness at the levels

of noticing and understanding
contributed substantially to a
Rosa 1．a proble m －
67 adult significant increase of learners ability
（1999），beginning Spanish solving task
to recognize the targeted structure ，
Rosa ＆ （puzzle task） TAPs
learners conditional awareness at the level of
O Neill 2． Multiple choice
of Spanish understanding also had a differential
（1999） recognition task
im pact on the a m ount of intake w hen
co m pared to awareness at the level of
noticing．

　　However ，m y position is that ，despite all the optimistic and encouraging results reported by these
researchers for the facilitative role of awareness ，they all fell short of their claim to have lent support to
Sch midt s noticing hypothesis that“noticing is vital for L2 data processing” ． All these recent atte m pts
have proved to be both w orth w hile and valuable in that they have helped us to gain a better understanding
of the cognitive processes underlying L2 learning in one way or another ，or to putitin another way ，m ost
of these studies deserve to be applauded with their obviously high internal validity in terms of their robust
research design （in particular ，Leow s 2000 study and Rosa and O Neill s study） ．I a m m ore ready to
accept ，however ， that they have de m onstrated to us the different degrees of attention paid to L2 input
can lead to m ore or less learning （Sim ard ＆ Wong 2001 ），but not in the sense that they proved that
noticing is the pre－requisite for all subsequent L2 data processing． When we refer back to the six factors

6
 CELEA Journal 79

influencing noticing in the earlier part of the paper ，these studies have only m entioned lightly one or tw o
factors（e．g． task de m ands ，instruction），w hile all the other aspects have not been touched upon． All
these studies co m bined together w ould see m so minim al w hen we are searching for the answer to account
for the fact that w hen there is no noticing ，L2 learning does not take place．Besides ， these studies are not
without limitations the mselves ，a deeper look at so m e aspects of the m will do justice to m y standpoint
here ：

Firstly ，the narrow subject base and target forms．Even if we agree that the nu m ber of subjects in
m ost cases are relatively adequate（exceptthat ，m aybe in Leow s 1997 study w hich involved about 28 ， less
than statistically satisfactory as he ad mitted himself），they still present a nu m ber of other m ore serious
concerns ： （a）Subject base．Their linguistic backgrounds are rather narrow in the sense that only Spanish
and Finnish are involved （by these ，I do not m ean that these tw o languages the mselves present any
proble m ），and these are just NOT enough to represent the realistic w orld of L2 learning． A broader
subject base that involves m ore diverse L2 linguistic backgrounds is definitely called for before we can
reach a m ore solid conclusion on L2 learning itself ；（b）Target forms．The subjects linguistic proficiency
is so low that Icannot resist casting m uch doubt on allthese findings w hen researchers claim ed that these
learners have acquired the （sim ple m orphological ，or se mi－ artificial structures in Alanen s case）target
forms sim ply because they had noticed the m previously．Additionally ，w hile these target structures are so
pro minent and tend to have m eaning potential ， the effect of saliency was not m easured．Another pointin
Leow s tw o studies（1997 ＆2000 ）is particularly w orth m entioning ，viz．，these subjects had only been
exposed to Spanish for about three weeks（roughly about 7－ 8 hours of form al exposure in the classroo m ），
but the m ediu m of instruction for these Spanish beginners was Spanish through w hich ideas ，new
inform ation ，and so forth were exchanged in the oral ， aural ， and written m odes（2000 ： 562）．Should this
be possible for these groups of beginners ？I have m y ow n reservations．In both Leow s 1997 and 2000
studies ，he himself ad mitted that“the findings clearly cannot be extrapolated to other linguistic forms or
structures” （1997 ：494 ；2000 ：573），and allthe other studiesin this group have m ade similar co m m ents at
the end of their papers．

Secondly ，the m ethodological issues the mselves ，i．e． the data collection procedures and the data
anlysis procedures that were ad ministered in these studies． As already show n in Table 1 ，the data
collection procedures used in these studies is m ainly the online elicitation m easures of think－ aloud
protocols（TAPs） ． Though TAPs have been claim ed to be able to far outperform offline elicitation
m easures such as postexposure questionnaires ，they are not as perfect as they m ay see m ．In Sch midt
（2001 ：19）ow n co m m ents about Leow s 1997 study ， “itis difficult to see how such techniques could show
that subjects did not attend to or notice so m ething ，since verbal reports（TAPs） （even w hen concurrent）
cannot be assu m ed to include everything thatis noticed” ．Still ，there are several other concerns that need
to be addressed in terms of TAPs used in these studies ， ．e． the issue of reactivity effect（Leow ＆Morgan－
i
Short 2004 ；Bowles ＆Leow 2005） ．Such reactivity effect might result fro m （1）learner s prior knowledge
of the target forms due to the fact that these m orphological structures are so salient and tend to have
m eaning－ bearing potential ；
（2 ）task de m ands ，． i e． text m odes（written or oral），text length etc．； （3）
m ultiple exposure．They were not addressed in all these studies w hile we do not have e m pirical studies in
SLA to preassu m e their absence．

Conclusion
Therefore ，we can co m e to the conclusion that ，though the facilitive role of awareness has generally
been confirm ed by several studies ，Sch midt s noticing hypothesis that“noticing is vital for L2 learning”
re m ains unresolved ，given such inadequate evidence in SLA so far． However ，as Truscott （1998 ）
suggests ， the proble ms inherent with this hypothesis can be“eliminated or greatly reduced”if it can be
reform ulated as“noticing is necessary for L2 learning” ． Much further e m pirical studies are crying out to
be done to show the effects of such factors as frequency ，saliency ，instruction ，individual differences
（such as processing capacity）as learners are interacting with L2 input data． However ，despite all these
limitations inherent in this hypothesis ，im plications for teaching instructions and learners can still be
de m ystified in the light of insights draw n fro m such analysis carried out in the present paper ，for
exa m ple ， input enhance m ent ，focus on form （FonF ）etc．The SLA field is looking forward to the next
wave of research within this fra m ew ork．
7
 Is Noticing Vital for L2 Learning ？— A Critical Revie w of Sch midt s．．．　 Wen Zhisheng

References
Alanen ，R 1995．Input enhance ment and rule presentation in second language acquisition．In R ． W ．Sch midt
（ed．）． Attention and Awarenessin Foreign Language Learning．Honolulu ：Universityof Hawai i Press．pp．
259－ 302．
Bo wles ，M ．A ＆R ．Leo w ．2005．Reactivity and type of verbal reportin SLA methodology． Studiesin Second
Language Acquisition 27 ：415－ 440．
Carr ，T ．H ．＆T ．Curran．1994． Cognitive factors in learning about structured sequences ：Applications to
syntax． Studiesin Second Language Acquisition 16 ：205－ 230．
Doughty ，C ．1991．Second language instruction does make a difference ：Evidence fro m an e m piricalstudy of
SLrelativization． Studiesin Second Language Acquisition 13 ： 431－496．
Leo w ，R ．P．1997．Attention ， awareness ，and foreign language behavior． Language Learning 47 ：467－ 505．
Leo w ，R ．P．2000．Astudy of the role of awarenessin foreign language behavior． Studiesin Second Language
Acquisition 22 ：557－584．
Leo w ，R ．P．＆K ．Morgan－ Short．2004．To think aloud or notto think aloud ：The issue of reactivity in SLA
methodology． Studiesin Second Language Acquisition 26 ：35－ 57．
Rosa ，E ．1999．A cognitive approach to task－ based research ：Explicitness ，awareness ，and L2 develop ment．
Unpublished doctoral dissertation ，Georgeto w n University ，Washington ，DC ．
Rosa ，E ．＆ M ．D ． O Neill．1999． Explicitness ，intake ，and the issue of awareness ：Another piece to the
puzzle． Studiesin Second Language Acquisition 21 ：511－ 556．
Sch midt ，R ． W ．1990．The role of consciousness in second language learning． Applied Linguistics 11 ：129－
158．
Sch midt ，R ． W ．1993．Awareness and second language acquisition． Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 13 ：
206－ 226．
Sch midt ，R ． W ．1994． Deconstructing consciousness in search of useful definitions for applied linguistics．
AILA Review 11 ： 11－26．
Sch midt ，R ． W ．1995．Consciousness and foreign language learning ：A tutorial on the role of attention and
awareness in learning．In R ． W ．Sch midt（ed． ）． Attention and Awareness in Foreign Language Learning．
Honolulu ：Universityof Hawai i Press．pp．1－ 63．
Sch midt ，R ． W ．2001． Attention．In P．Robinson （ed． ）． Cognition and Second Language Instruction． New
York ：Cam bridge University Press．pp． 1－32．
Sch midt ，R ． W ．＆S．Frota 1986．Developing basic conversational ability in a second language ：A case－ study
of an adult learner．In R ．Day（ed． ）． Talking to Learn．Ro wley ，Mass．：New bury House．
Simard ，D ．＆ W ． Wong 2001． Alertness ，orientation ，and detection． Studies in Second Language Acquisition
23 ：103－ 124．
Skehan ，P．1998． A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning．New York ：Oxford University Press．
Slimani ，A ．1992．Evaluation of classroo m interaction．In J．C ．Alderson ＆A ．Bereta（eds． ）． Evaluationg
Second Language Education．Cam bridge ：Cam bridge University Press．pp．197－ 220．
To mlin ，R ．S．＆V ．Villa．1994．Attention in cognitive science and second language acquisition． Studies in
Second Language Acquisition 16 ：183－ 203．
Truscott ， J．1998． Noticing in second language acquisition ：A critical review ． Second Language Research 14 ：
103－ 135．
VanPatten ，B ．1990．Attending to form and content in the input． Studies in Second Language Acquisition 12 ：
287－ 301．
Velmans ，M ．1991．Is hu man information processing conscious ？Behavioral and Brain Sciences 14 ：651－ 669．